When private investigator, Shane Stephens, is hired by the mayor of Cincinnati to track down the hacker who has been threatening him, Shane is sure this is the opportunity to launch the Merleau Detection Agency into the big time. He even convinces Rowe Ward of Ward Security to loan him one of his best IT specialists, Quinn Lake.

Shane, a man who prefers casual intimacy, is surprised by his attraction to the moody computer geek, but when Quinn suggests they have fun for the month he’s on loan, Shane happily agrees. Both men are expecting nothing more than a good time.

But the investigation takes an unexpected turn and they quickly discover they are facing more than a hacker out to ruin the mayor’s re-election chances. And as they spend more time together, they realize their relationship may be a lot more than just a good time.

With only weeks until the election, Shane and Quinn race to gather the proof they need while dodging bullets and possibly…falling in love.

Excerpt

After one quick knock on Rowe’s door, he stepped inside without waiting for him to call since he was already expected. But he stopped short when he saw the tall man standing next to Rowe’s desk, his hands on his slender hips as he grinned down at Rowe. Quinn couldn’t stop his eyes from quickly sweeping over his broad shoulders and chest that tapered into a narrow waist. His eyes snapped back up to find a pair of brown eyes that twinkled as they finished checking him out as well.

“Sorry,” Quinn mumbled, instantly taking a step backward. “I can come back.” Rowe rarely saw clients. He had customer representatives that handled talking to the clients. Of course, with Rowe’s lack of a filter, it was better if he didn’t talk to the new clients directly.

“No, come in, Quinn,” Rowe said sharply. He stood behind his desk, drawing Quinn’s gaze to his shorter but broader frame. His dark red hair stood up slightly as if he’d been running his fingers through it. Quinn never took that as a particularly good sign.

With a quick jerk of his head, Quinn stepped in and shut the door behind him. The other man was smiling at him, that assessing look still in his eyes, and Quinn didn’t want to think about the fact that he was dying to take another longer look at him, but not with the freaking boss in the room.

Shane extended his hand to Quinn and Quinn clenched his teeth, trying to hide his discomfort at taking Shane’s hand. His own palms were sweaty, making the momentary contact awkward. Why the fuck was he always so damn awkward around hot guys?

“Rowe tells me you’re the best,” Shane said, releasing his hand.

Quinn couldn’t help the skeptical look he shot at Rowe, who only shrugged as he sat down again. “Well, I said you <em>and</em> Gidget are the best.”

“Is this about a job?”

“Sit, Quinn.” Rowe absently waved toward the two chairs in front of his desk. He shuffled some papers around without seeming to actually look at them, placing them in piles at the edge of his desk.

Shooting one last uncertain look at Shane, Quinn moved to the farthest chair and sat, his tablet clenched in both hands. His mind raced as he tried to figure out why he’d been called into this meeting. Clients didn’t meet with Rowe, and Quinn didn’t meet with clients unless they’d already been assigned a bodyguard. And while they’d worked with some private investigators in the past, Rowe wasn’t usually involved. He had a company to run.

“Shane recently acquired a client who is the victim of a hacker,” Rowe started.

Quinn looked up at Shane, who was still standing beside Rowe’s desk, his mind finally turning away from too many questions to a problem he could understand. “Identity theft? Bank accounts drained?”

“No, not yet.” Shane shook his head, some of his dark curly hair falling forward against his temple. “At least, not that we’ve uncovered.”

“Then how do you know this client was hacked?”

“There are other signs…but I can’t go into it.”

Quinn frowned for a second. That certainly wasn’t going to make his job easier. “Well, do you just need improved protection? Alerts on accounts? We’ve got a comprehensive list of things we can do to help shore up the client’s account protection and privacy.”

“Shane isn’t looking for protection from the hacker for the client.” Rowe paused until Quinn looked back at him. “His client has hired him to track down the identity of the hacker.”

“Whoa…” Quinn said on an exhale, sitting back in his chair. That…that was not an easy task. Most hackers were pretty damn good at not being found. You had to be if you wanted to survive as one. If you sucked, you were usually snagged by the FBI pretty damn fast. Quinn would know. He’d started hacking at a young age—not stealing other people’s money but just breaking through security systems because he could. It took the feds a solid five years to catch him. But his boss knew all this. Rowe knew everything about the people working for him.

“We’re not equipped to handle this level of…” Shane frowned at Rowe’s computer as if he blamed it for his problems. “Well, we’re not staffed yet to handle computer things like this. I can do some of the forensic research in accounting matters, but I need a computer genius like you.”

“That’s why I agreed to loan you to Shane and his business partner, Ethan, for one month,” Rowe announced.

Quinn was out of his seat in a shot, hovering over the edge of the desk as he looked down at his boss. Pain shot through his chest, and he was suddenly having trouble catching his breath. Panic clouded all of his thoughts. He loved working for Ward Security. He’d been there for just less than two years, and he’d never found another place where he’d felt like he fit so damn perfectly. This was home. These people he worked with, they were his friends. He didn’t have to hide or pretend or feel uncomfortable.

And Rowe…Rowe had always been amazing. Sure, he could be cranky and a little crazy. He was always loud and tended to speak before thinking. But Quinn always knew exactly where he stood with Rowe. He always felt like Rowe had his back.

But this…

“Are you getting rid of me?”

“What?” Rowe snapped. “Where the fuck did you get that idea?”

“You’re hiring another IT person. I saw the listing. And this? Putting me ‘on loan’?”

Rowe groaned and scrubbed a hand over his face. With a heavy sigh, he pointed back at the chair Quinn had just vacated. “Sit.” Grudgingly, Quinn followed direction while Rowe looked over at Shane. “Can you give us a minute?”

Devon Murphy has never believed that there were fairies at the bottom of the garden, but when he’s in an accident on his way to his grandmother’s house and comes face to face with the biggest, baddest wolf he’s ever seen, he’s forced to reconsider.

When his grandmother asks him to look into a string of suspicious accidents, he finds a much bigger mystery to unravel. From his childhood best friend to the too-attractive Deputy Wade Hunter, everyone in Rowan Harbor seems to have something to hide. Devon has to get to the bottom of it all before the accidents turn deadly.

This novel is intended for adult audiences, and contains swearing and sex scenes.

It is the first of nine books in The Rowan Harbor Cycle, not a standalone. Devon and Wade will return in book four to continue their story, so this book contains a HFN, not their HEA.

Kimi’s thoughts:

I’ve not come across this author before and when I first read the blurb, I thought it sounded refreshing. I first took a peek at the author’s Amazon page and discovered he has another series already out but it isn’t paranormal, which I’m currently in the mood for, so passed them by (for now).

I really like the natural way Sam’s prose flows across the page. Nothing seems forced and I slid right into the world Rowan Harbor from the very first paragraph. Devon, Jesse, and the rest of his friends and fellow townsfolk are all very likable people. They are all familiar in a way that should we ourselves somehow find ourselves moving into this small town, we’d not be suspicious of anything. There are little quirks noticed by recent arrivals, such as how reverent everyone seems of the town council, and the way they view anyone whose family is less than a hundred years resident there as an outsider. There’s very good reason for that, as Devon finds out.

If you love stories of fated mates and paranormal creatures, but wish for variety outside the usual tropes, this is definitely a must-read. It’s fun and there’s a mystery to be solved, well two actually as it happens. The HFN ending is definitely happy with the knowledge that we get to ride along for their ‘ever after’ and that more couples are soon to find their One as well, without it being too terrible of a cliffhanger. One mystery is resolved, but the second promises to be an overarching plot point I look forward to following as it is resolved. I am very much eagerly anticipating book two.

Love is a fragile thing, and it can slip through your fingers if you don’t hold on tight….

When Zack Jung’s AA sponsor and friend commits suicide, he’s desperate to hold it together, and there’s only one place he can turn. He calls Josh and Kris, and they take him back to their ranch outside Santa Fe.

A cowboy to the bone, Cimarron Duran cherishes his orderly life and routine. He likes his neighbors, Kris and Josh, but he has less than no interest in the hipster personal trainer who comes to stay with them—or at least, he plans to fight his interest in favor of his solitary life and his art.

But some things are as inevitable as the weather, and when Zack and Cimarron finally come together, they find they don’t want to let go. It won’t be easy, though, for two men with pasts like theirs to forge a happy future together.

Texan to the bone and an unrepentant Daddy’s Girl, BA Tortuga spends her days with her basset hounds and her beloved wife, texting her sisters, and eating Mexican food. When she’s not doing that, she’s writing. She spends her days off watching rodeo, knitting and surfing Pinterest in the name of research. BA’s personal saviors include her wife, Julia Talbot, her best friend, Sean Michael, and coffee. Lots of coffee. Really good coffee.
Having written everything from fist-fighting rednecks to hard-core cowboys to werewolves, BA does her damnedest to tell the stories of her heart, which was raised in Northeast Texas, but has heard the call of the high desert and lives in the Sandias. With books ranging from hard-hitting GLBT romance, to fiery menages, to the most traditional of love stories, BA refuses to be pigeon-holed by anyone but the voices in her head. Find her on the web at http://www.batortuga.com

BLURB: Strength is found when surrendering to destiny.
Graham has suffered way too much at the hands of the Nall. Ever since he was enslaved after the invasion, he’s been raped and tortured by the Alasharian Supreme Commander and his cohorts. Condemned to die by hanging for his part in the human rebellion, Graham gives in to the inevitable, no longer caring if he lives or dies. But an unexpected event occurs and, at the last moment, Graham is saved.

Balor is a guard to the Nall, but he’s also a part of the growing rebellion among the Alasharians. When one of the Nall’sadvisors enlists his help in getting a human prisoner to safety, Balor comes to his aid. Startled by the soul match hum that sparks to life when he touches Graham, but unable to do anything about it, Balor is determined to protect his human match at all costs. When Advisor Oman arrives on the scene to rescue Balor as he helps Graham to escape, it becomes clear that yet another alien/human triad is forming—even if Graham may never accept being bonded to two aliens after the trauma he’s endured at the hands of Alasharians.

The time has come to depart to the secret military complex where the human and Alasharian allies will stage their final assault against the Nall and the Void. Families are reunited and others torn apart as they prepare for battle. The allies fear what will become of them all if Chris, the special human Sha Sha Arhas chosen as their spiritual leader, is no longer there to guide them.

REVIEW: This is book 4 in this sci-fi series, and it is absolutely necessary to read these books in order. I also need to mention that this review will contain spoilers from the previous books.
In book 4 we get Graham’s story and I was dying to find out what happened with the mysterious Void. Who is Graham you ask, well he was first mentioned, barely, in the first book. He is the son to Mr. Avery, and brother to Paul. They were the neighbors that lived on the same street and they all had grown up together. Graham had been captured in the nets by the aliens early on. He had a similar build like Chris and Morgan which was obviously a desired type by the Alasharians.
We meet up with Graham at the end of book 3, where he had escaped from the Nall’s torture ceremony and was hiding under a vehicle. As Morgan and his mates attempted to flee the park after witnessing the torture and hanging of the rogue humans, he literally stepped on a human body part that was hiding under a Jeep next to him. To Morgan’s delight the body part belonged to Graham who had survived somehow. He tried to pull Graham with him so they could escape but Graham wanted nothing to do with the aliens that seemed to be very friendly with Morgan. After learning Chris and his family were still alive, Morgan finally convinced Graham to go with him and his mates despite the condition he was in. He had obviously suffered at the hands of the Nall. No specifics were given regarding exactly what was done to Graham, only that he was raped and tortured.

It was a female Alasharian that provided the distraction for Graham to run. But it was Balor, a Alasharian guard to the Nall that made certain Graham was freed. After what happened to Graham he was surprised and almost speechless when he realized that this alien was actually helping him. Then we meet the handsome Advisor Oman, who had saved Balor’s life. Balor had long admired Oman and the feeling was mutual. So there you have it…the third soul match. Oman, Balor, and Graham.

Besides the soul match between Graham and his mates this book was about the human and Alasharian rebellion. In order to fight the Void, who had become increasingly dangerous, they became allies. This book added more depth to the growing suspense of what will happen with Chris and his family when they discover he is the chosen human. Will this tear them apart. Who will survive this war in the end? What happened to Chris and his mates since they left the park? So many questions. Anxiously waiting on the next book, Morticia.👍🏾

Morgan can’t figure out where he belongs anymore now that a new world has emerged in the aftermath of the Alasharian invasion of Earth. Everything is too strange and frightening and all he wants to do is hide from it all. It doesn’t help to ease his confusion when he finds himself being drawn to not one but two aliens. He thought his cousin Chris was insane to fall in love with the muscled warriors who bonded with him as his mates, but his own heart might be in danger when it comes to the warrior Rama, and Hallosh, an advisor to the Alasharian’s Supreme Commander, the Nall.

Chris experiences a terrifying vision from the Soul Healer and it becomes clear that both Alasharian and humans are running out of time to save the Earth from the insidious spread of the Void. A battle is imminent and it becomes imperative to protect those who are allied against the evil that has corrupted the Nall.

Everything on Earth is about to change once again and Morgan finds himself at the brink of discovering his own destiny—and how the two aliens he can’t get out of his mind will be a part of it. A disturbing event triggers the beginning of the fight against the Void. Chris and Morgan must separate for the first time since the invasion, with each of them leaving with their own soul matches. For Morgan, he hopes the goodbye he says to Chris won’t be forever.

Reader Advisory: This book contains scenes of death and violence.

REVIEW: Just a small warning here, that this is the third book in this series and the first two books are vital to the story. This review may contain a few spoilers for anyone who has not read books 1&2.

So in this book we get Morgan’s story. You may recall in my reviews of books 1&2 I found Morgan to be completely annoying. Well, in the beginning Moran is still very cautious about the Alasharians, but he’s beginning to thaw due to the kindness and bravery that his cousin Chris’ alien mates have shown him. He’s also still fearful and bewildered about how Chris was not just in a relationship with the aliens but in love with them. Morgan just needed some time to process everything going on including the uncomfortable feeling he got every time he and Hallosh, the alien that rescued him in book 2, were in the same place.

Then he meets Rama, Lasar’s best friend and fellow warrior. Now Morgan is in Rama’s care where they get to know each other and a sort of friendship develops before the same uncomfortable spark develops between him and Rama. To his shock and surprise, Morgan begins to understand the spark between him and Rama which leads to him uncovering his other match. I will say that the insta-love between Rama, Hallosh and Morgan felt a bit rushed. Rama went from not being interested in anything between him and Morgan to being all in.

I did however thoroughly enjoy this book and the drama of the Void, the Nall, the Soul Healer, and Chris who has become the chosen human to lead this fight for both the Alasharians and the humans.

Chris has had a monumentally bad month. First, an aggressive band of aliens invaded the Earth, conquered the world, and now he’s fighting for survival in the mountains with his family and the neighborhood bigot. Just because he’s barely out of his teens and a bit on the scrawny side doesn’t mean he can’t watch out for his mom, sisters and younger cousin. Chris keeps searching for the brighter side of things, but his humor is wearing thin. Fear can do that to a guy.

Lasar and Nary are a soul matched pair of warriors from Alashar. Lasar is Nary’s Ahna, the one who dominates him, and Nary is the Nasha, or submissive, to Lasar. Every Alasharian, regardless of orientation, needs the balance of the power exchange to exist peacefully within their lifelong soul match bond. When Lasar is awarded a war prize, he sends Nary to look over the recent arrivals.

Chris and his cousin Morgan are captured and sent to the slave cages where they discover from the other imprisoned young men that they are destined to be sex toys for alien pairs. When one of those aliens saves Chris and his cousin from being abused by the slave master, Chris hopes that the seemingly kind alien won’t be too horrible an owner.

Lasar and Nary are finally alone together with their new sex slave, ready to enjoy their reward. However, in the middle of their playtime a shocking event occurs that not only disrupts Chris’ world even more than it already has been, but also challenges everything that Lasar and Nary have always held dear. As Lasar searches for answers, he begins to question the reasons behind the Earth invasion and where his loyalties should really lie. As their Ahna, he must be the one who decides whether they will all be safer together, or apart.

REVIEW: I hesitated about reading this book because even though I love the BDSM genre, I’ve never really been interested in sci-if books. Well I’m happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed this one for the most part. The first part of the book vividly describes the aliens, Alashrians, and our planet after an alien invasion. The author gives you details about the events that take place and why those things are happening.

Chris is a 20 year old guy living a normal life when aliens invade earth. Chris is terrified but in order to survive he and his family, which includes his cousin Morgan, have to flee and hide in the woods. He figures with all the camping he did with his dad, the woods will be the safest place for them to be undetected. Well, unfortunately Chris and his cousin are captured by the aliens and taken as sex slaves, toys. Now right around this point in the story you’ve met quite a few characters, some of which I did not care for. His cousin Morgan is one of them. God he was whiny and annoying. I constantly wanted to slap him.

Anyway, one of the things we learn is the dynamics of the relationships between the Alasharians. In their society relationships are made up of a Dominant, called a Anna, and a submissive, called a Nashar. The two in the relationship are soul matched, like soul mates. Chris finds this type of relationship quite interesting because prior to the invasion he had wanted to visit a BDSM club to experience the power exchange that takes place between a Dominant and a submissive. The author explains the specific dynamic of the relationships and the hierarchy that exist between these aliens. This part of the story seemed a bit different than the first..a bit off maybe.

Regardless, overall I liked the premise of the story. I liked the romance that takes place between our MC’s. Book 1 ends in a HFN so you have to read the next book to find out what happened to our MC’s. I give this book a 3.5 stars.

Chris and his alien soul matches, Lasar and Nary, are ready to deepen their new bond as mates. It’s also time for Chris to begin his training as a Nasha, or sub, and for Nary to embrace his new role as Ahna, or Dom, to Chris. As three in the soul match, they are unique. Not only have Alasharians never matched with a human, they’ve never matched as three.

What makes them special also puts them in danger. The Supreme Soul Healer warned Chris that many changes were ahead, ones even more startling than the original invasion. They must keep their bond a secret until they know who they can trust.

As Ahna to both Nary and Chris, Lasar carries the responsibility of protecting his mates. A proud Alasharian warrior and commander, he’ll stop at nothing to keep them safe and to help Chris find his missing mother and sisters. To make sure that Chris’ cousin Morgan isn’t sent back to the slave cages, he’s also arranged for a fellow commander to take Morgan into his care when he returns from battle.

Lasar and Nary are invited to a pleasure party by the Alasharian’s leader, the Nall, and are forced to bring Chris and Morgan. But a terrifying turn of events sets in motion what might be the beginning of the end for them all, unless they can resist the void.

REVIEW: First, let me warn you that book 2 ends in a cliffhanger which shockingly enough did not bother me but may bother others so the author may consider mentioning this in the blurb. It could possibly affect the readers overall experience.
Now, I had to read book 2 in this series to find out what happens next between our MC’s. I initially stated in my review of book 1 that sci-fi is not a typical genre for me, but this series has become the exception and I’m glad I decided to give it a chance. Book 2 has angst, romance, quite a bit of intrigue, and hot damn sex and more sex. I really liked book #2. The story progresses nicely as Chris learns more about being the third person in a loving relationship, as well as being a sub. Nary and Lasar also learn about their small human who they find fascinating and totally love. We learn more about the Void, and the Nall and who can be trusted and who can’t.

Well as we learned in book 1, Chris, Lasar and Nary are soul matched which has never been done or heard of. Because of this discovery and many others revealed by the Supreme Soul Healer who is the alien version of our religious entity’s, their relationship as soul matches has to be kept a secret, hidden. Morgan, Chris’ cousin, who is under Lasar’s protection is learning more bout the aliens also. He’s still annoying and I still want to bitch slap him, but things seem to be changing with Morgan. I can’t wait to see how she introduces Morgan to his alien mate/mates.

Book 2 was good, but book 1 is a must or the reader will be lost in my opinion. There are two many details that are important to the story. I give this one 4 stars.

BLURB: When shifters Aleco and Pedro find their world torn in two, they have to stick together, fight together and be as one in a way they never have before.

For Aleco the pieces of his happiness jigsaw have finally fallen into place. With his son Neo now content with a new mate, it’s time for him to celebrate with the two people he loves and desires most in the world.

But little does Aleco know that waiting for him and Pedro is the worst news of all. The third in their relationship is missing, vanished without a trace. There one minute, gone the next.

In their frantic dash to find her, a desperate passion is fueled and their emotions collide with fiery consequences. Taking solace in each other is all they can do.

But will they find her? And why has she left them? The only thing left is to keep hunting for the answers and following her trail.

Reader Advisory: This book contains scenes of anal sex.

REVIEW: This was a little novella in the series, a little over 50 pages. This is another ménage mating in the series, only this one is MMF. Despite its short length, the novella still fit well into the series and was written quite well. I’ll admit that I wasn’t expecting it to be written as good as it was what with it being a novella. The characters are engaging and storyline is nice and fits in perfectly with with the overall arc of the series. The editing was also good.

This novella reads like a full length book and will definitely hold your interest. Please note: these books, in my opinion aren’t stand-alone and is best when read in sequential order so you have a better understanding of the series and characters.

BLURB: When Jude is offered a lift to anywhere on the back of a handsome stranger’s Harley, he throws caution to the wind and jumps on for the ride.

Jude has a boring office job in a sunny but deadly dull Californian town. The highlight of his day is sitting home alone with pizza and beer. So naturally, when Neo wants to take off into the sunset, with Jude in tow, he doesn’t argue.

Neo makes up his own rules. Deciding quickly that Jude is the mate for him, he breaks into a beautiful beachside home pretending it’s his in order to impress the sexy man he’s picked up. He’s hoping things are going to get hot and sweaty between them real quick.

But the cops are onto them, and as Neo makes a run for it, Jude is hauled off to the police station. It’s not looking good, what started out so promising has now left a bitter taste in Jude’s mouth.

Will Neo come back for him? And if so can he explain why whenever the huge black dog is around, he’s not? And can he really throw his life into the air and see where it lands? These are all questions that Jude’s mind, body and heart need to know the answer to.

REVIEW: This is the first book in the Redwood Shifter series. This book was off to a bit of a slow start for me but as the book progressed, it raised my interest level. The book turned out to be really interesting once I got past the first couple pages of the first chapter. I really liked how Neo’s character wasn’t perfect. He wasn’t an angel but he wasn’t a horrible person either. He was a bit of a bad boy and that’s exactly what Jude needed at the time. He could’ve done without the run in with law enforcement but it worked out in the end.

I really liked this book. I found the characters engaging despite the slow start. The editing and storyline were really very good and the length was perfect. This is definitely a series worth getting in to.

Patrick’s life with his shifter mate Greg is idyllic. In love and lust, they exist in a wonderful bubble of contentment and satisfaction in the Redwood Forest, giving in to their needs and desires whenever the mood takes them.

Until one day Patrick stumbles across a wild dog. His wounds are shocking, but it’s even more sickening how he got them.

Neither Patrick nor Greg can abandon the poor creature and they take him into their home and their hearts. But when the new addition to their family turns out to be so much more than a dog, can they act on what their bodies are crying out for? Will a third man in their relationship upset the applecart? He certainly thinks it will and it seems he’ll need convincing otherwise.

Reader Advisory: This book contains scenes of voyeurism, some injury description and references to violent assault.

REVIEW: This is book # 4 in the series and it was wonderfully written. I will admit that this book particular attract my attention because it featuring a ménage relationship. I’ve always been fascinated with polyamorous relationships. Those relationships are fascinating to me in the sense that it takes an incredible amount of time and effort to really make those relationships work. It’s hard enough when it’s just two people in a relationship so imagine how much more difficult with another person added to the mix.

The I did a pretty good job of writing that balance between these three men. Of course initially there was a bit of drama but that’s to be expected in a relationship with more than two people but she did a great job of transitioning them from being a couple two or threesome.

I really liked everything about this book. I love how the covers to the series all uniform. That’s really important to me; it feeds into my OCD tendencies. The colors the fonts are all beautifully done, so props to the cover artist(s). The editing was wonderful and the storyline flowed quite well. The books in the series transitions smoothly from this one book other. I would definitely recommend that the books be read in sequential order. The books probably could be read as a standalone for sun but just for me personally, I always like to read series in sequential order to have a better understanding of the characters as there may be a time when a character or something that’s mentioned that occurred in another book and you just want to be able to have a better understanding of it. The length of the books a perfect: there not too long and not too short.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this book as well as the series.